Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Wild

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The last time the Caps and Wild hooked up, it was just hours after the trade deadline last February, and Brooks Laich's two-goal/two-assist performance paced the Caps in a game that produced one of the year's great hockey photos and the host's third win in four all-time meetings between the teams at the V.C.

In Minnesota, however, the story has been quite different, with Washington going 0-3-1 while scoring just three goals getting shutout twice against the Wild. In fact, the Caps haven't won in Minny since February 9, 1993 (when Nicklas Backstrom was five years old and Niklas Backstrom was 14), meaning that Washington has averaged exactly one goal every five years in the Land of 10,000 Lakes since Pablo Honey was released, which isn't good (the lack of offense, that is, not the record).

As if a rough history isn't enough, the present day doesn't offer much more reason for optimism. Minnesota has the lowest team goals against average in the NHL, allowing just two goals per game, which should suit the Caps just fine, as they've only scored twice in each of their last two games. But the Caps' offense, even without any semblance of puck control Mike Green, Alex Semin and Sergei Fedorov, is doing some things right - the power play, for example, has scored at least once in each of the past six games, going 8-for-25 over that stretch. Of course, Minnesota has the League's best penalty kill so far at a staggering 91.4%.

If the Caps are going to have any chance tonight, they'll likely have to take an early lead and protect it - the Wild are 4-0-0 when leading after the first period and 6-0-1 when leading after two. In fact, throw in last season and Jacques Lemaire's squad is 27-3-4 with a lead after twenty minutes and 38-0-5 when ahead after forty, and since the lockout, they're 67-11-6 and 90-4-7, respectively.

Mustering up offense will be just half of the challenge, however, and the team's collective inability to keep pucks out of its own net of late could put this game out of reach in a hurry. In their last four games, the Caps have allowed 21 goals and their goalies have a woeful .833 combined save percentage. Enter Jose Theodore (one would think), who has had some success against Minnesota in the past, going 3-2-1-1/2.10/.920 in his career.

Tonight's game, the Caps' eleventh in 21 nights, offers a road-weary Washington team the opportunity to return home with five points from a brutal five-game trip and a renewed sense of confidence - let's see what they do with the opportunity.

Oh, and don't forget to get your drinking game on tonight. Given the Wild's style of hockey, the Caps' play recently and a Versus broadcast, it may be the only way to make it all tolerable (though this is scheduled to be a Lindsey Soto game). And if you're playing with the right beverage, you might even see something like this by the third period.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Michael Russo is a personal favorite hockey writer of mine, so his Caps/Wild preview is a must read.... OFB has video on JT60's new mask. Question - does he play for the Caps or Reebok?... Caps PA announcer Wes Johnson lends his pipes to "Fallout 3".... Hey, a Ted Leonsis fan page on Facebook (I guess if you're not one of the lucky 4,995, this is the next best thing).... Loose lips sink trades, Dave Bolland (whoever the hell that is).... Good morning, Katie - make sure to grab this next one.... The Vancouver Sun ran a feature on Karl Alzner over the weekend, and he's pretty blunt about the reason he's not a Capital right now (not that we didn't know).... Speaking of Caps prospects, here's a nice piece on Nick Larson (h/t Nate).... Finally, I would never tell you how to vote, but if you don't vote for Mirtle's "From The Rink" here, I'm pretty sure the terrorists have won.

Tuesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Sens

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A week ago today, we mentioned that Alex Ovechkin's two-game absence from the Caps lineup presented opportunity aplenty for both the Caps and AO. Some players took advantage (at least for one night). Others did not. Now we'll see if the Great Eight can himself make the most of the opportunity to once again show everyone in the League why he is the reigning MVP and get his game, and more imporantly the Caps season (too dramatic?), back on track.

And what better team for Ovechkin to face in this effort than the Ottawa Senators, a squad he positively torched last season to the tune of six goals (including his first career four-goal game) and four assists in four games? For his career, AO has ten goals and nine assists against the Sens in twelve games (his third-highest points-per-game rate against any opponent he has faced more than three times, behind only Philly and Atlanta).

In fact, for one reason or another, the entire Caps team (other than the new guy between the pipes) has fared well against Ottawa recently, going 7-2-0 in their last nine games (after being winless in their previous eight) and outscoring the Sens 37-25 along the way (including 22-12 in last season's four-game sweep).

The current Senators squad comes into the game with a 4-5-2 record, thanks in no small part to a horrid five-on-five goal ratio (both their power play and penalty kill have been strong, however) and weak goaltending from incumbent number one, Martin Gerber... who won't starting tonight. Instead, the Caps will face the red hot Alex Auld, who is 3-2-1/2.15/.931 on the season and has had only one game with a sub-.921 save percentage thus far (so he's due for a shellacking, eh?).

On offense, the Sens are led bythe usual suspects, with Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Filip Kuba and Daniel Alfredsson all playing at a point-per-game clip or better.

Wait, Filip Kuba? Heh. (He's no Andrej Meszaros, is he, Brian Lawton?)

So here it is Election Day, and the Caps will get their leader back (talk about the change we need) leaving us with one question: Can we enjoy a Caps win tonight? I've got all the hope in the world that, indeed, yes we can.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Pierre LeBrun weighs in on Semin/Crosby and includes some damage control from Ted Leonsis. Good stuff, though there's no way Ray Shero could take GMGM.... Speaking of the Pens, take a look at this eight-step program to better our friends from Pittsburgh and tell me how many would apply to the Caps (I count a bare minimum of five).... Still sticking with the City at the confluence of the three rivers, LCS Hockey thinks Alex Semin is a stooge, but that Sidney Crosby isn't progressing as a player and right now is just "a fast Adam Oates," which I thought was more or less Semin's point.... The Caps are enjoying the second largest attendance boost over last year's numbers in the League.

Sigh... Forbes

Forbes' annual rankings of NHL franchise values is out, and rather than reinvent the wheel (why should I when they still have the old logo on their Caps page?), I'll just cut and paste what I wrote last year (which was pretty much what I'd written the year before):

"Forbes has updated its valuations of the NHL's 30 teams and the Caps are in just about the same place on that list as they are in the standings, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. As I wrote when Forbes compiled the same list last year, the most valuable franchises are those whose owners also own the arenas in which the team plays, co-habitating NBA franchises, etc. Since the Caps are renters and Ted Leonsis et. al. don't yet own the Wiz, it's not surprising that they'd be way down the list. Some day, however, Lincoln Holdings will own the building and the 'Zards, and the Caps will skyrocket up the list."

Why Forbes doesn't consider assets such as the option to buy an NBA team and/or the arena is beyond me.

Drinking The Koules-Aid For Charity

An interesting note from down in Tampa, where the Rays are on the verge of one of the biggest chokes in sports history Bolts are still looking for their first win and Steven Stamkos is still looking for his first point:

Lightning goalie Mike Smith on Saturday wore a mask... the team hopes will become a collector's item for fans of the grisly Saw movies. On one side, a picture of the creepy clown doll that taunts the movie's victims and police, on the other, the evil Jigsaw and his female accomplice, the architects of the bloody on-screen mayhem. Chains on both sides of the mask appear to pull apart a mouth.

Owner Oren Koules is the Hollywood producer responsible for the series that continues Friday with the release of Saw V. Goalie Olaf Kolzig also will wear a mask depicting the movie, but it has yet to arrive.

"It was unclear how many times the masks will be worn. Smith's will be auctioned to benefit the Lightning Foundation. Kolzig's will be auctioned to benefit Athletes Against Autism.

Now, it's for charity, so I can't knock it. But if we catch Jose Theodore sporting a Kicking It-themed mask, I may have to say something.

Wednesday Roundup

A quick link dump this morning:

You can now follow The Rink on Twitter, if you're the Twitterin' type.... GMGM was on The Fan 590 yesterday.... The Caps start the season at #5 on The Hockey News' Power Rankings.... I linked to it in the sidebar the other day, but in case you missed it, TuvanHillbilly has the Alex Ovechkin prison-themed music video cameo posted.... Ted Leonsis is one of SBJ's 20 Most Influential In Digital Sports. I am not.... Keith Aucoin is the AHL's Player of the Week, and things are going great in Hershey (plenty of good nuggets here and a look at their new third jersey here), which makes Quintin Laing happy and Mathieu Perreault productive.... This is a pretty cool promotion from down in Miami.... Speaking of Florida, Jamie Heward's digging Tampa (beats Russia, eh comrade?).

Wednesday Miscellany

One month from tonight, the Caps will be in Atlanta to open the season against the Thrashers... but for today, you get a link dump.

The National Post wrote the same article that EMac wrote three weeks ago, and in it they referred to Donald Brashear as "a reigning heavyweight champion." Edward Fraser of The Hockey News isn't as easily impressed, as he didn't list The Donald among his ten fighters worth talking about, but Steinz has no problem posting a picture of Lindsay Czarniak talking about the Caps' enforcer (and, of course, neither do I).... Caps prospect Dmitri Kugryshev is adjusting quickly - and very well - to the North American game.... You knew Viktor Kozlov was a stud in the shootout, but did you know that Jose Theodore has the highest career shootout save percentage "among goaltenders likely to be on NHL rosters at the start of the season?" I bet you a nickel no team this season beats him on three consecutive attempts using the exact same move.... Finally, our buddy Pepper at the red skate emailed me yesterday noting a couple of points from my "Thinking Inside The Box" post. In it, I quoted Ted Leonsis as stating that "Our defense is going to be really good in a couple of years with [Mike Green], Eminger, Morrisonn and Schultz," asking, "Can you believe Boston gave us Morrisonn and [the pick that became] Schultz for Gonchar?" and noting that "I really like Laich. He's going to be another Konowalchuk-type guy." That was more than two-and-a-half years ago. Pretty prescient, no?

Sorry, Peter And Olie: No Jersey Retirement For You

On the heels of this morning's announcement that no one will ever again wear the number eleven for the Caps comes the implicit news that anyone should feel free to wear number twelve or thirty-seven (paging Keith Aucoin).

As related by Craig Custance, Ted Leonsis discussed the topic of further jersey retirements:

He said the criteria was strict: You'd better be a Hall of Famer or lead the Caps to a Stanley Cup.

So nevermind that Peter Bondra and Olaf Kolzig have at least thirty individual team records between them (including most seasons, points, goals, goalie games played, wins, shutouts and saves), the team apparently feels alright letting a group of hockey writers decide whether these Caps greats are deserving of having their respective numbers retired by the team.

Huh?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that neither Bondra nor Kolzig is headed to the Hall (and that neither will lead the Caps to a Cup). I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that one, if not both, of them will receive the same recognition that Mike Gartner will get when his number is sent to the rafters on December 28. How the team backpedals from this newly announced standard is another thing.

Update: Much ado about nothing, as the team is "open-minded about what other numbers will be retired." See what happens when the lawyer in me gets unleashed?

D.C., Hockey Town

By now you've no doubt read GDub's defense of Washington as a hockey town (even though many of those local hockey fans don't necessarily root, root, root for the home team), buried in his take on the McKeon/Leonsis contraction "debate." I wanted to discuss one point Greg makes, as well as a comment to the post.

Greg posits that "There are more hockey fans in D.C. than there are Capitals fans." What he means here (I think) is that there are more non-Caps hockey fans than Caps fans here in D.C. (a more literal reading of his sentence makes a far too obvious point - of course there are more hockey fans in D.C. than there are Capitals fans, as the latter group is a subset of the former), which, on the surface, sounds believable - Washington is a city full of transplants and temporary residents. I actually shock people when I tell them I was born in the District after their inevitable "Where are you from?" follow-up, "I mean 'Where are you from originally?'"

I have my doubts, however, as to just how accurate a statement Puck Daddy's assertion is. Assuming that the metric for measuring the number of non-Caps hockey fans in D.C. is the number of fans who support visiting teams at the Verizon Center (I'm not sure how else one would attempt to quantify this... maybe circling the Beltway looking at bumper stickers or anecdotal evidence of "all the guys on my adult league team" being non-Caps fans?), it sounds plausible that there are more of "them" than "us."

But look at it this way - if there is an average of 4,000 "fans" in D.C. who support each of the NHL's other 29 clubs, and each of those fans comes out to see their team when they're in town, they're going to be pretty noticeable at the VC for those one or two games per year (or every three years, as the case has been). If there are 150,000 similarly devoted Caps fans in D.C. who come out to one or two games per year, well, you've got the worst attendance on the planet. Point being, it's considerably easier to be noticed as a fan once or twice a year - because everyone else who supports your team comes out of the woodwork for those same games - than to show your colors on 41 nights during the season. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to bet that over the past couple of years, most D.C.-area residents who would call themselves Penguins fans have been to most of the Caps/Pens games at the Verizon Center. I'd also be willing to bet that over the past couple of years, most D.C.-area resident who would call themselves Caps fans have not been to most of the Caps games at the Verizon Center.

Of course there are plenty of Rangers, Flyers, Sabres and Pens fans in D.C., but their numbers are easily over-estimated by the fact that they only come out en masse (in admittedly huge masses) a few times a year, not to mention that many of the Pens and Flyers fans you do see at the VC aren't D.C.-area residents at all, but rather visitors to our lovely city for the game.

I'm sure there are Minnesota Wild fans in Washington. Phoenix Coyotes fans, too. And a fair share of "I root for the Caps, but I'm a Bruins fan first and foremost" types. But there's simply no way that there are more non-Caps hockey fans than Caps fans in D.C. No chance. At all.

The second point I wanted to address is something from the comments to Greg's post. Here's the comment:

The key statistic is this: Capitals games attendance %capacity at home 82.9%. Capitals games attendance %capacity on the road 88.2% [actually, it was 93.6%]. 5.3% [actually, that's a 10.7% difference now] more peopole [actually, it's spelled "people"] show up to road games to see Ovie than show up in his own damn town. That is the problem Mr. Leonsis.

Putting aside the fact that the numbers cited have nothing to do with paid attendance (those are reported attendance numbers, which includes freebies, something the Caps have cut way back on over the past few years as it really only serves to devalue the product), that the Caps' actual paid attendance last season was much higher than 24th in the League, and that the team's attendance increased dramatically as the team showed its games were worth attending, simple logic would tell us that an attraction (namely Alex Ovechkin) that is available as infrequently as once every three years will be in higher demand than that same attraction offered 123 times over that same span. When the Caps visited Nashville last March, it was the first time Ovie played in Music City in his career. By contrast, he had already played 120 regular season games at Verizon Center. Add to that the fact that opposing teams build ticket packages around Ovechkin and papers announce his pending visits months in advance (yes, papers plural), and is it really surprising that the Caps are a relatively strong draw on the road?

Other points in GDub's piece are worthy of discussion ("The fiscal ramifications in the argument against contraction appear to make the argument for expansion."... perhaps, though the last expansion was supported by an influx of talent from across the pond which helped to maintain the product's quality, and a future expansion would obviously not be; "The bandwagon nature of the D.C. fan"... I'd say that, with few exceptions, this is the nature of most sports "fans"), and on the whole it's a nice piece. I'm just not buying Washington as a non-denominational hockey town. The non-Caps fans help the puck-friendly atmosphere, but they're not carrying the water. Not by a longshot.

Love Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry...

... Which makes it all the more clear that Jaromir Jagr never loved us:

"Looking back at my career in NHL, I would like to say sorry to the owner of Washington Capitals Ted Leonsis who spent a lot of money to get me, but I didn't play like many people expected. If I have opportunity to talk to him some time in the future then I'll try to explain him everything."

But really, what's left to explain? You got paid, you got horrible, you got traded, we got Ovechkin. End of story, no?

H/t SPAC2 on the link and translation

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Thrash @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

I've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first? The bad? You don't get a preview of tonight's game from me (I know, you're crying). But as this is the 43rd time the Caps have played Atlanta this season, you shouldn't need one (though here's a little nugget for you - Atlanta is 2-9-3 in the second game of back-to-backs, and they had a barn-burner with Calgary last night).

The good news? I've got an awesome Friday time waster for you - the Japers' Rink Eastern Conference Playoff Predictor, which I have shamelessly ripped off from Battle of Alberta. Think the Caps still have a shot at the playoffs? Think they're done? Not sure? Predict the rest of the season's games that matter and you'll find the answers to all of your questions. Note: it's an Excel doc, so when you click on the thumbnail below you'll be prompted to download a file (don't worry, I've been checked out - no viruses here), then open it, follow the directions and you're on your way.


So are you throwing down a deposit on playoff tickets or drowning your sorrows? Let us know how your top eight pans out in the comments, and keep The Predictor on your desktop, update it daily, feed and water it, etc. - it's yours now.

Ovechkin Watch:

Next goal: 57 - Most goals scored in a season since the lockout (breaking Jonathan Cheechoo's mark set in 2005-06); Most goals scored in his first three seasons in the League by a European-born player (breaking Pavel Bure's mark of 154)

Career vs. Atlanta: 22 games, 17 goals
2007-08 vs. Atlanta: 6 games, 3 goals

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Olie Kolzig as the all-time face of the franchise - what do you think?... Ted Leonsis was on the Junks earlier in the week and the interview can be heard here (segments 6, 7 and 8 from 3/12; h/t to Rage) Bengt Gustafsson's son Anton may already be a top NHL prospect, but another Swedish Cap pivot's kid may not be far behind (h/t to Rich for the link).... Matt Pettinger misses the Caps more than they miss him.... Justin Mrazek (8th round, 2004) has been solid for Union College.... I haven't the foggiest idea who Nathan Schwartzbauer is, but the Caps are his favorite team, so he can't be all bad (and yes, that might be the most worthless link I've ever posted)....Memo to GMGM: sign Mike Green before he reads this article.... Finally, one year ago today we railed against a silly rule change and two years ago today we heard about the team's summer plans and noted a couple of fantastic Daniel Alfredsson quotes.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ilya Kovalchuk (3G, A, +2, 5 SOG)
  
• Ross: Ilya Kovalchuk (4 points)
  
• Norris: Brent Burns (G, A, +2, 7 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (28-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Ilya Kovalchuk (3G)
  
• Calder: Erik Ersberg (W, 37 saves on 38 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Mathieu Garon (L, 3 goals allowed on 14 shots against in 24:55 of work)
  

Wednesday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Thrash

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

For the third time since the beginning of the month, the Caps will play an enormous intra-divisional game. In the first two, the goaltending was great, allowing just three goals and an empty netter against. The offense, however, was dormant, and the Caps dropped both games.

Three inter-division February wins have vaulted the Caps into first place, but the fact of the matter is that with a dozen more Southeast Division match ups remaining on the schedule and only a .500 intra-divisional record, the Caps need to step it up against their "rivals," and that needs to start sooner rather than later.

Following that in-depth analysis, I'll leave you with your "how 'bout that?" stat of the day: In the five previous meetings between these teams on the season, five different goalies have gotten wins - Brent Johnson, Ondrej Pavelec, Johan Hedberg, Olie Kolzig and Kari Lehtonen. Maybe the Caps should give Freddy Cassivi tonight's start....

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

In John Buccigross's world, the Leafs don't want Alex Ovechkin because he's only the fifth best player in the League and people probably give a crap whether or not there's any Ben Folds on Marissa Miller's iPod.... Sami Lepisto's call-up/send-down yesterday ensures that, at least for another few days, Miika Elomo can keep the title of "Last Finn to Play for the Caps."... Ooohhh, scary.... Wha?! Someone has more meaningful goals than AO?! Inconceivable!... Plenty of love here.... No matter who wins, the boss's bases are covered.... This is awesome, but if we're going with movie-based Caps promo posters of old, give me "Goalbusters Three."... Finally, one year ago today we looked at AO's artwork (one of our most popular posts last year), took inspiration from a dead guy from across the pond, rocked a brand new NHL ad and played bench boss, and two years ago today we bid adieu to the NHL for a couple of weeks and used an Olympic prediction (which, btw, we nailed) as an excuse to post a Rink favorite picture.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Tomas Vanek (3G, including the game-winner, on 3 SOG, +1)
  
• Ross: Thomas Vanek, Trent Hunter (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Dion Phaneuf (Game-tying goal with :50 left, A, 2 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: J.-S. Giguere (W, 32 saves on 34 shots against)
  
• Richard: Thomas Vanek (3G)
  
• Calder: Karri Ramo (W, 19 saves on 21 shots against)
  
• Aiken: Chris Osgood (L, 3 goals allowed on 4 shots against in just 8:49 of work)
  

It's Official: Ovechkin Has Signed

Those rumors you read on sites that aren't in the rumor-mongering business are partially true - Alex Ovechkin has signed a contract extension. However, the terms are not the reported six years/$54 million.

The official announcement will be made tonight following a team-hosted event for season ticket holders, and we'll follow up with all the details.

Photo: AP

Update: Tarik confirms 13 years/$124 million. Jesus.

Update 2: Some quick math. Ovechkin's new deal will pay him:

• $9,538,461.54 per season for the next 13 years
  
• $116,322.70 per game for the next 13 seasons
• $5,311.54 per shift (based on his current season's shifts-per-game pace)
• $304,332.65 per hour of ice time (based on his current season's time on ice per game)

Update 3: The press conference audio, courtesy WashingtonCaps.com:
boomp3.com
Update 4: Fantastic video of Ted Leonsis making the announcement to season ticket holders (courtesy KCK):

It's Not Unusual (Or Is It?)

In his blog today, Caps' owner Ted Leonsis acknowledged the team's poor home record and noted that having a losing record at home "is quite unusual for us as a franchise."

But is it all that unusual? Let's take a look at the Caps' home record since Leonsis et. al. bought the team in May of 1999:

• 2007-08: 6-9-1
• 2006-07: 17-17-7
• 2005-06: 16-18-7
• 2003-04: 13-20-6-2
• 2002-03: 24-13-2-2
• 2001-02: 21-12-6-2
• 2000-01: 24-9-6-2
• 1999-00: 26-5-8-2
  

That's seven full seasons and only two in which the team had more regulation losses than wins (and in 2005-06, it was only by two games) - not bad, considering some of the recent *ahem* lean seasons. Then again, if we're counting all losses as, you know, losses, it looks slightly different and the bad years look appropriately bad:

• 2007-08: 6-10
• 2006-07: 17-24
• 2005-06: 16-25
• 2003-04: 13-22-6
• 2002-03: 24-15-2
• 2001-02: 21-14-6
• 2000-01: 24-11-6
• 1999-00: 26-7-8
  

In other words, since the last playoff appearance, the Caps' have won 52 and lost 81 home games. Some would say that would make this season's losing home record not at all "unusual." Then again, the current downswing has come on the heels of a dominant 95-39-22-8 home record in the first four seasons of the Leonsis Regime. So what is usual and what is unusual is, I suppose, in the eye of the season ticket-holder*.

The bottom line is that it's time for the Caps to reclaim a home ice advantage - no matter how crappy the ice or how sparse the crowds - and everyone in the organization knows it, from the top on down. That effort continues tonight against the Habs.

* Of course, the lawyer in me must note that when Leonsis wrote "[w]e have a losing record at Verizon Center which is quite unusual for us as a franchise," he's inarguably wrong - all of those winning home records were achieved at the MCI Center (and this is where I'd insert a winking emoticon, were I not so ardently anti-emoticon).

Distance And Dollars

With another pair of scintillating Southeast showdowns on tap for this weekend, I figured now's as good a time as any for a little fun with geography and economics. For example, did you know that there's not a single team in the former Patrick current Atlantic) Division whose home ice is further away from D.C. than the RBC Center in Raleigh, site of tomorrow night's game against Carolina? Sure enough - the Flyers (132.41 miles), Devils (216.13 miles), Rangers (226.76 miles), Penguins (246.03 miles) and Isles (250.02 miles) all play closer to the Verizon Center (used herein to include the MCI Center) than do the 'Canes (273.93 miles), the Caps' closest geographic rival in the Southeast Division. And there's only one Eastern Conference city further from Washington than Tampa... Miami, where the Caps will be Saturday night.

Think it doesn't matter? Think again. A pregame chat with Vogs the other night had me wondering about the revenues lost (or, perhaps more accurately, that the Caps have been screwed out of) by being taken from a division with their traditional rivals and thrown in with Gary Bettman's NASCAR set.

Mind you, I'm not talking about extra travel costs - let the Western Conference teams gripe (legitimately) about that. I'm talking about lost ticket revenues. In a minute, you'll see what I mean. Let's take a look at the Caps' average home attendance against the teams in their current division since the lockout:

1. Carolina - 15,091 (and it's probably worth noting that two of the ten 'Canes games were home openers)
2. Atlanta - 13,181
3. Florida - 12,836
4. Tampa Bay - 12,192
   

Now for the average home attendances against their former division rivals over the same time period:

1. Pittsburgh - 16,800
2. Philadelphia - 15,517
3. N.Y. Rangers - 15,278
4. New Jersey - 13,847
   
5. N.Y. Islanders - 12,282
   

See what I'm getting at? There are three teams in the Atlantic Division that are bigger draws at Verizon Center than any Southeast Division team and, other than Carolina (whose fans actually do travel pretty well when the mules aren't otherwise in use plowing the tobacco fields), there's not a single team in the Southeast that outdraws any of the Atlantic teams at the VC other than the Isles. Bottom line: the Caps' average attendance for home games against Atlantic Division teams since the lockout is 14,761. Against Southeast Division teams? 13,329.

Take the numbers back a bit further and it's more of the same. Since the beginning of the 2000-01 season, Atlantic teams are averaging 15,970 fans per game at the VC - Southeast teams only 14,477. Only Detroit (in four visits) has been a better Verizon Center draw than the Pens and Flyers, and the Rangers are fifth on the list (St. Louis, surprisingly, is fourth, but in only three visits). The 'Canes are seventh. Atlanta, Florida and Tampa? 23rd, 25th and 27th (Minnesota is bringing up the rear). Here's the kicker - the average attendance at the Verizon Center since the beginning of the 2000-01 season for Rangers, Flyers and Pens games has been 16,781 and for Thrashers, Panthers and Lightning games, that number drops to 14,109.

I'm no math wiz, but this all means that attendance for the Caps against their old division rivals (all five of them) is - and has for some time been - more than 10% higher than it is against their current division "rivals" (all four of them). That's an awful lot of bodies, lost revenue, asshole Pens and Flyers fans and marketable match ups.

But instead, we get the Panthers four times a year. And we get 10,526 people. In fact, of all the games the Caps have hosted since the start of the 2005-06 season against the nine teams we're talking about, six of the seven worst-attended games were against either Tampa or Florida, and the only four sellouts came against the Pens (three times) and the Rangers. [Sidenote: Would you rather see the building half-full with 10,000 Caps fans in it or sold out with 10,000 Caps fans and 8,000 Pens fans? It might be a tough call for you, but probably not as much for Ted Leonsis and company - the dollars that come in from Pittsburgh are just as green as those from D.C. (and the more dollars there are coming in, the more dollars there are to be reinvested in the team).]

Obviously some of these numbers can be partially explained by the unbalanced schedule and the lack of demand caused by a relative lack of scarcity - I have little doubt that a fourth home Devils game of the year would draw about as much as a fourth Thrashers game. But more - much more - of the issue is the distance (and, of course, the lack of history) between the Caps and any of their Southeast Division foes. Hockey in D.C. is a tough sell, to be sure. But it certainly didn't get any help the day the rest of the Patrick Division moved on without the Caps.

Update (11/30, 6:37 AM): For more of Leonsis's thoughts on the matter (and other things), check out the interview he did with William F. Yurasko last year. Great stuff.

The Post In Which I Resist The Urge To Go With An Inappropriate Headline Regarding Cox Cable

It's not quite Comcast vs. MASN, but there appears to be an "issue" regarding the telecasting of some Caps games this season. As a resident of the People's Republic of Maryland (and thus not impacted by it), I'm just getting up to speed on the situation, which apparently is going to impact a number of my Confederate brethren.

The long and the short of it, as I understand it, is that Cox is the only cable provider in the D.C. area that doesn't carry CSN+, which means that Cox customers won't be able to see the 17 Caps games this season (which may or may not include the games this weekend - tomorrow night's game is set to be the first of these "no shows") that are to be shown on the Comcast-owned channel.

For more on the issue, you can catch up here, but why read about it when you can actually do something about it? Contact Cox via the methods listed on their website (or other methods, should they present themselves) and tell 'em you want to watch the Caps games - all of 'em.

Update: A formal statement from Ted Leonsis on the matter.

Blinding You With Science

If you're curious as to the science behind the new RBK Edge uniform system, check out this video from Discovery.com, featuring your Washington Capitals.

And if you've ever wondered why some hockey team doesn't put a really, really fat guy in goal, check out an article in today's Wall Street Journal which, again, features the Caps.

Thanks to Nate Ewell and Ted Leonsis for passing along the two links.

Q&A With Ted Leonsis And Chris Clark

Thanks to B-Dubs for passing along his account of Friday's "Townhall Meeting" with Ted Leonsis and Chris Clark. It's an entertaining read, and certainly provides a good example of the current mood around K-Plex - light, positive and optimistic. I particularly enjoyed this excerpt:

Fan asks Clark if he had input on signings in the offseason as captain

CC: "Well management and the scouting team are responsible for evaluating talent. It’s easy to watch a guy play and know what he can do. They come to the vets like me and Olie to find out what they’re like off the ice. Find out, um, if he’s an idiot or not." everyone laughs.

FAN: Who are some of the idiots?

CC: "Well, um, haha we have a pretty good group of guys here and.."

FAN: "Oh come on, spill the dirt, who are some of the idiots? Not on the Caps"

CC: "Um, well I think you guys had one here a couple years ago"

Heh.

Good luck to B-Dubs (and Post Game Heroes) going forward - keep fighting the good fight amongst all those Pittsburgh fans.

Ted Leonsis On SportsTalk 980

Thanks to Capital Fanatic for pointing us to Sports Talk 980's website for the audio of today's Ted Leonsis appearance on Feldman & Maloney (link will open your audio player).

And speaking of Feldman, L'shanah Tovah to all of you Chosen Peeps out there - tonight we're gonna party like it's 5768 (because, well, it is).

This And That From Tuesday Afternoon

Worth checking out this afternoon are Vogs' profiles of Mathieu Perreault and Patrick McNeill over at Caps.com, as well a pair of pieces on Ted Leonsis, the first of which is an interview over at DCist, while the second is a lengthy recap of an AP interview.

Some highlights from the latter Leonsis article:

• "Every person in the organization's expectation is that we will make the playoffs."
• "We're under the cap. We have a lot of assets. I could see us during the season making trades. We've reached that point now where we're a team going up with good cap management. We have 'optionality.' We're very well-positioned in the new NHL. We're not a whining team."
• "I need another 2,500 season-ticket seats," Leonsis said. "What that would do is tip it, it would give us scarcity of tickets and allow us finally to raise prices. Our ticket prices, for the most part are exactly the same as they were in 1999."
• Leonsis said the Capitals "might never break even" financially, but added that the franchise right now could probably sell for at least $225 million, compared to the $85 million he paid for it eight years ago.

And one quote from Perreault that I couldn't let go unmentioned:

Perreault doesn’t hesitate when asked which NHL player he looks up to and tries to model his game after.

"Daniel Briere," Perreault affirms. "He played junior on Drummondville. I’m from Drummondville so I watched him play junior. He is the kind of player I want to be, so I’m working to be like him."

All things considered, I'd take that in a heartbeat.

Quote Of The Day

"I do believe that our rebuild is over.... The time is now to start to win again and start our quest for the playoffs and then to a Stanley Cup victory."

- Ted Leonsis on Ted's Take